"Red and Orange Cows" by Alisha Houtchens

Image posted with the permission of the artist. Alisha Houtchens is a printmaker and student in Colorado. More of her work can be viewed and purchased on her Etsy store. I was most moved by this color piece, but she also has some gorgeous black and white prints. For those who enjoy black and white imagery of animals, definitely check out Serene Lion and African Grey.

In the waning sunlight, that time between day and night, swathes of color exhibit strange behavior. Patches of white fur in the foreground vanish and become windows to an eerily blue-green sky. Shadows and dark splotches recede even further, turning deep crimson. Clouds seem more like spills of paint, and where the clouds and sky end and the cows begin, I can no longer say. What's close might seem near, and vice versa. Scratches across the surface strengthen the form of the front plane of the closest cow's face - his is a face which comes forth clear from the chaos, the portion of the apparition that emerges distinctly from the ghostly mist for but a moment. The rest of the scratches serve to further collapse the near with the far. What's the big deal, you might ask? It's just cows. Cows in a pack. Cows looking out at the viewer. Curious? Anticipating? These cows are more than cows. They are a burning forest fire - and are those the antlers of a poor moose whose been caught in the flames? They are will-o'-the-wisps and cackling jack-o-lanterns, floating mustaches, and small strips of black and red yarn drifiting toward the ground.

"T is the Tiger" by Christopher Wormell

Since I finished the prints for my own alphabet book, I decided to write about a print from another artist's alphabet book. Christopher Wormell, a highly prolific English printmaker, published numerous books, several of which were made up of a series of small prints featuring animals. Such titles include The Alphabet of Animals, Teeth, Tails and Tentacles, and Mice, Morals, and Monkey Business.

Orange stripes slither out of the darkness like ribbons of ominous light. A honey-colored puddle wriggles under the steady pace of the tiger's steps. All that is lit is of a bright and cheerful hue, but that really only serves to heighten the drama of the darkness and all the possible danger hidden in those shadows. Danger, such as eyes focused on prey, and sharp teeth and claws, poised to emerge.

Cats A-Z: Z (Zombi)

"Zombi" 
Woodcut
6" x 6.5" (paper) 3.5" x 4" (image) 
Oil-based inks on white Subi paper 
Artist's Proof 
Available for purchase here. 

Zombi 

The Zombi's wide eyes glisten and look past the inanimate occupants of the cellar. His gaze is fixed on some horrible memory. The agonized scream he let out in the still dark hours of that fateful morning has long faded to silence. And yet, that scream was like a drop that plunged into the pool of his mind, making ripples that now encircle his entire sense of being. Before the incident, he enjoyed being a black cat, slinking from one shadow to the next as he stalked pigeons and rats. Now he cowers in the dark of his underground lair, afraid of the Beast. His form has lost substance. His black cloak is a bottle of ink being poured into the sea. 

The Zombi was the name of a cat owned by the English poet Richard Southey. He named the cat after the Chief of the Palmares. Southey wrote an elaborate letter about the Zombi to Grosvenor Bedford. In that letter he describes how he took in an all-black tom cat because it had become a nuisance to its previous owner (it killed birds in the pigeon house.) Southey hoped it would solve his rat problem. One night the Zombi let out a anguished scream, but was discovered alone and unharmed. Southey wrote to Bedford asking what he thought caused the scream, and suggests the cat saw and/or had been tormented by the devil. 

Cats A-Z: Y (Yowl)

"Yowl" 
Woodcut
6" x 6.5" (paper) 4" x 3.5" (image) 
Oil-based inks on white Subi paper 
Artist's Proof 
Available for purchase here. 

Yowl 

Yowl, as in the sound these nocturnal creatures commonly make in the middle of the night, often to the dismay of us humans who are trying to sleep. This scraggly fellow seems to think he can drown out even the light of the moon with his screams. 

Cats A-Z: X (Xandy)

"Xandy" 
Woodcut
6" x 8" (paper) 4" x 3.5" (image) 
Oil-based inks on white Subi paper 
Artist's Proof 
Available for purchase here. 

Xandy

Xandy, as in "X and Y", isn't a famous cat in history or myth. He is a fictional cat invented by me. The genes that determine the color of a cat's coat are located on the X chromosome, and so almost all Calico cats are female. However, about one in every 3,000 Calicos manages to get a Y chromosome (in addition to the necessary two Xs), and is therefore born male. Xandy is a male Calico, and as such, he is almost as rare as four leaf clovers or words that start with the letter X.

Cats A-Z: W (Were-jaguar)

"Were-jaguar" 
Woodcut
6" x 6.5" (paper) 4" x 3.5" (image) 
Oil-based inks on white Subi paper 
Artist's Proof 
Available for purchase here. 

Were-jaguar

Spots and stripes blur the line between flora and fauna. The cat's goblin-like face floats over jungle shrubs. Such concealment is cause for alarm since he seems poised to punch. Though he stands upright, his black, cavernous eyes reveal no soul. He hangs his sharp tongue out like a Maori warrior, as if to say, "You look tasty." All lines and shapes lead to his ample tummy in the center. That is where we are meant to end up.

The were-jaguar is a supernatural creature from the Olmec culture featured often in stone artwork. 

Cats A-Z: V (Vaccination)

"Getting Vaccinated" 
Woodcut
6" x 8" (paper) 4" x 4" (image) 
Oil-based inks on white Subi paper 
Artist's Proof 
Available for purchase here. 

Feline vaccination protocols have saved countless cats from suffering diseases such as panleukopenia, herpesvirus, calicivirus (FVRCP), and rabies. For animals, just as for humans, vaccinations are the single most effective method for the prevention of infectious disease. It is counterintuitive, however, that an action which causes fear and pain is done out of concern and love. Don't worry, Tiger, in a few minutes you'll be back to your long life of milk, yarn, and long naps on sun-drenched windowsills.